More On That Crazy Triple Play

Here's some more odds and ends on Sunday's triple play in the ninth inning, which preceded the Dodgers' walkoff victory over the Padres on Jackie Robinson Day (April 15, 2012):

• About that triple play from Sunday's wacky 5-4 win over the Padres: it may have been the right call, but umpire Dale Scott's actions weren't completely in line:

  UPDATE: MLB senior vice president Peter Woodfork released the following statement on Monday afternoon after investigating the play (via Gaslamp Ball):

  "After review and discussion with the umpire, we have determined that the call itself of a fair ball was correct. However, while making the call, there was an incorrect mechanic, which appeared to confuse San Diego's base runners. At no time did the umpire verbally kill the play on the field. After reviewing the entire situation following the game, the umpire realizes his hands were in an exaggerated upward appearance similar to a call that would indicate a dead ball. While we all agree that it was a fair ball that did not hit the batter, the umpire recognizes that the proper mechanic was not executed as he tried to avoid the catcher."

  Well, correctly-signalled call or not: I'll take it.

• More on the triple play from Jayson Stark over at ESPN.com:

  Now here's something you don't see every day: On Sunday, the Dodgers turned a triple play in the top of the ninth inning, then won on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth.

  Here's what you need to know about that crazy daily double:

  • The Dodgers were the first team to cram a triple play and a walkoff win into the same inning since the 1942 Cubs pulled off that trick against the Reds on Aug. 22, 1942 -- except the Cubs did it in the 11th inning. They turned a triple play on a popped-up bunt in the top of the 11th, then manufactured the winning run off Reds reliever Junior Thompson in the bottom of the 11th.

  • But it's even more rare for a team to do something like that in the ninth inning. Retrosheet has assembled box scores dating all the way to 1918. And the Dodgers are the ONLY team with a triple play and a walk-off hit in the ninth inning of any game in the last 95 seasons.

  • Dee Gordon was in the middle of that triple play, then got the walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Gordon was just the second player in the last 15 seasons to participate in a triple play at any point in a game, then get a walk-off RBI later in the game. The other : Prince Fielder, for the Brewers, on Sept. 6, 2009. Prince's triple play, for the record, came in the top of the sixth inning.

  • Dodger Stadium has been around for 50 years, but this was just the fifth triple play turned there -- and only the second by the Dodgers. To put that in perspective, the Dodgers played 45 seasons in Ebbets Field -- and there were eight triple plays there.

  • Finally, the legendary Bill Chuck reports this was just the second 2-5-6-3 triple play ever. The other? It took place on May 21, 1950 (Cardinals versus Phillies).

  Make sure to keep reading the Stark piece, as he continues on to discuss Aaron Harang's nine consecutive strikeouts two days prior.